Heart deceases are the most common cause of death in the Western World.
The most common heart decease is coronary artery obstruction. The coronary arteries provide oxygenated blood to the heart muscle itself. Obstructions result in less blood flow, often resulting in angina pectoris, which is chest pain due to ischemia, i.e. a lack of blood supply, thus a lack of oxygen supply of the heart muscle, generally due to obstruction or spasm of the coronary arteries.
In order to confirm coronary vascular decease, the coronary vessels are exposed to X-ray investigation, which today is considered to be the “Golden Standard”. If obstructions or constrictions are found, such constrictions may be treated by balloon expansion or surgery, such as by-pass surgery, or by other methods. Obstructions, such as blood clots, may be dissolved or removed by introduction of suitable agents.
The X-ray investigation and evaluation and other interventions may be performed by inserting a catheter via arteria femoralis or via arteria radialis and advancing the catheter to the area under investigation or for medical intervention.
When the investigation or insertion of a catheter takes place via the radial artery, it may be convenient for the physician to use the right arm of the patient lying in a supine position, since the physician almost always is placed at the right side of the patient.
When the right arm is used and the physician is arranged at the right side of the patient, the arm should be placed along the abdomen in a relaxed position. If the right arm is placed in this position, the palm of the hand is normally faced downward or inward towards the abdomen and the radial artery at the wrist is not easily available. The arm needs to be rotated about 90 degrees around its symmetry axis and the wrist should be turned backward to expose the inner wrist portion, where the radial artery is most easily available. There is a need for a fixture for obtaining and maintaining such a position.
Reference is made to patent publication WO2013/089608A1, which discloses a fixture for immobilization of a left arm of a patient.
A similar problem is encountered during plebotomy procedures as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,055,910B2. In order to immobilize the arm, there is provided an armrest assembly, which includes an armrest platform with hand and elbow extensions. The assembly is mounted to a swivel base unit that tilts, turns and rotates under the control of a single load control knob to permit placement of a patient's arm in several positions as needed to draw blood. The swivel base unit is mounted on the distal end of a cylindrical riser that can be raised and lowered to a desired elevation by a single load control lever supported by a base securing device that is adapted to be secured to different types of surfaces configurations.
However, the armrest mount of U.S. Pat. No. 7,055,910B2 is made of metal and cannot be used in an environment in which X-ray equipment should be used. The armrest mount is mounted on an armrest, and has to be adjusted to the position of the arm of the patient. If the patient moves, the armrest needs to be readjusted by movement along the armrest and remounting. In addition, there is required some type of support for medical equipment to be used during the treatment.